Pacioli Transalated by Geisjbeck

As has been said previously the original can be seen as image by the ICAEW:

• digitisation of original.
• Geisjbeck tranlation at the interent archive

Partial Transcription of Geisjbecks translation:

• Chapter 3
• Chapter 4
• Chapter 5
• Chapter 10
• Chapter 11
• Chapter 12

CHAPTER 3. EXAMPLE OF AN INVENTORY WITH ALL ITS FORMAL REQUIREMENTS.

In the name of God, November 8th, 1493, Venice. The following is the inventory of myself, N. N., of Venice, Street of the Holy Apostles. I have written down systematically, or had written by Mr. So-and-So, this inventory of all my property, personal and real, what is owed to me (debiti), and what is owed by me (crediti), of which I on this said day find myself possessed in this world. First Item: First I find myself possessed in cash, in gold and coin of so many ducats, of which so many are Venetian, and so many gold Hungarian; of so many large florins made up of Papal, Siennese and Florentine, etc. The rest consists of many different kinds of silver and copper coins, i. e., troni, marcelli, papal and royal carlini and Florentine grossi, and Milanese testoni, etc. Second Item : I also possess, in set and unset jewels, so-and-so many pieces, among which are many balassi set in gold, rings weighing so-and-so-many ounces, carats, grains, etc., per piece or in bulk, etc., which you can express in any manner you wish. There are so-and-so-many sapphires set on clamps for women ; they weigh so much. And there are so-and-so-many rubies, unset, weighing so much. The rest consists of unpolished pointed diamonds, etc. Here you may give such descriptions and weight as you desire. Third Item : I have clothes of many kinds ; so many of such kind ; and so many of such-and-such kind, etc., describing their condition, colors, linings, styles, etc. Fourth Item : I have several kinds of silverware, as cups, basins, rammi, cosileri, piromi, etc. Here describe all the different kinds one by one, etc., and weigh each kind diligently. Keep an account of pieces and weights, and of the alloy, whether the Venetian or the one used at Ragusa, etc. Also mention the stamp or mark that they might have. Fifth Item : I have so much massaria dei lini — that is, bed sheets, table cloths, shirts, handkerchiefs, etc., so many of each. Of the bed sheets, so many are made three-piece sheets, and so many are three and one-half, etc., mentioning whether the linen is Padua linen or some other kind, new or used ; length so many braccia, etc. ; so many shirts, etc. ; table cloths of so many threads ; so many big handkerchiefs and so many small, mentioning whether new or used, giving the different kind in your own way. Sixth Item : I have so many feather beds and their respective pillows, mentioning whether the feathers are new or used, whether the pillow-cases are new or used, etc., which altogether or one by one weigh so much, marked with my mark or with some other mark, as the custom is. Seventh Item: I have at home or in the store so much goods of different kinds: First, so many cases of ginger michino, weighing so many pounds, marked with such-and-such mark, and so on, describing each kind of said goods with all their marks that you might possibly give and with all the possible accuracy as to weight, number, measurement, etc. Eighth Item : I have so many cases of ginger bellidi, etc., and so many sacks of pepper, long pepper or round pepper, depending on what it is; so many packages of cinnamon, etc., that weigh so much; so many packages of cloves, etc., that weigh so much, with fusti polvere and cappellctti or without, etc., and so many pieces of verzini weighing so much, and so much sandalwood, red or white, weighing so much, and so on, entering one item after another. Ninth Item : I have so many skins for coverings, that is, so many white kids and so many albert oni or marchiani, etc., so many of such-and-such kind, etc., so many fox skins, so many tanned and so many raw, so many chamois skins tanned, and so many raw. Tenth Item : I have so many fine skins, fore armenti, dossi varii, ztbelini, etc., so many of such-andsuch kind, and so many of such-and-such kind — defining diligently and truthfully each time so that truth will always guide you, etc., distinguishing the things that ought to be entered by pieces from those that ought to be entered by weight, and those that ought to be entered by measurement, because in these three ways business is conducted everywhere ; certain things are reckoned by the bushel, others by the hundreds, others by the pound, others by the ounce, others by number, others by a conto (by single numbers) as leather goods or skins, others by the piece, as precious stones and fine pearls, etc. ; so you will make a notation of each thing. These examples will serve as a guide for all the rest, etc. Eleventh Item : I have in real estate : first, a house with so many stories, so many rooms, court yard, wells, garden, etc., situated in St. Apostle Street over the Canal, etc., adjoining such-and-such parties, etc., giving the names of the boundary line properties, making reference to the oldest and most reliable deeds, if there are any ; and so, if you have more houses in different localities, you will enter them in a similar way.

CHAPTER 4. VERY USEFUL ADMONITION AND GOOD ADVICE TO THE GOOD MERCHANT.

And so, as we have said, you shall enter diligently every thing that you have, whether personal property or real estate, one by one, even if there were ten thousand items, putting down the condition and nature, whether deposited or loaned, etc. You will have to mention each thing in proper order in the said Inventory with all marks, names, surnames — as far as possible — for things are never too clear to a merchant on account of the different things that may happen in business, as anybody in business knows. Right is the proverb which says: More bridges are necessary to make a good merchant than a lawyer can make. Who is the person that can count all the things that can happen to a merchant — on the sea, on land, in times of peace and abundance and times of war and famine, in times of health or pestilence ? In these crises he must know what to do, in the marketplaces and in the fairs which are held now in one place and now in another. For this reason it is right to say that the merchant is like a rooster, which of all the animals {animate) is the most alert and in winter and summer keeps his night vigils and never rests. And they say of the nightingale that it sings throughout the whole night ; however, this may be in the summer during the hot weather, but not during the winter, as experience shows. Also it is said that the head of the merchant has a hundred eyes, and still they are not sufficient for all he has to say or to do. These things are told by people who have had experience in them, such as the Venetians, Florentines, Genoans, Neapolitans, Milanese, people of Ancona, Brescia, Bragama, Aquila, Sienna, Lucca, Perugia, Urbino, Forosempronio, Cagli, Ugubio, Castello, Brogo, Fuligno, Pisa, Bologna, Ferrara, Mantua, Verona, Vincenza, Padua, Trani, Lecce, Bitonto, which are among the first cities of Italy and have the first place in commerce — especially the cities of Venice and Florence, which adopt rules that respond to any need. And well say the municipal laws: Vigilantibus et non dormientibus jura subveniunt — which means, The law helps those that are awake, not those that sleep. So in the divine functions of the Holy Church they sing that God promised the crown to the watchful ones, and this was the instruction that Virgil gave to Dante as to his son, in Canto 24 of the Inferno, where he exhorts him to the work by which one can reach the hill of virtue: Now, my son, it behooves that you quit your laziness, said my master, for he who lies on feathers or under covers will never amount to anything. Whoever spends his life in this way, he said, will leave on this earth the same trace as the smoke in the air or foam on the water, etc.; and another Italian poet admonishes us in the same way, saying: Work should not seem to you strange, for Mars never granted a victory to those that spent their time resting. And it is also very good to quote that sage who said to the lazy man to take the ant as an example ; and the Apostle Paul says that no one will be worthy of the crown except he who shall fight valiantly for it. I wanted to bring in these reminders for your own good, so that the daily care about your business would not seem heavy to you, especially the writing down everything and putting down every day everything that happens to you, as we shall unfold in the next chapters. But above all, remember God and your neighbor ; never forget to attend to religious meditation every morning, for through this you will never lose your way, and by being charitable, you will not lose your riches, as the poet says : Nee caritas, nee Missa minuit iter, etc. And to this our Savior exhorts us in the book of St. Matthew, when he says: Primum quaerite regulum dei, et haec omnia adiicietur vobis, which means : Seek you, Christians, first the kingdom of God and then the other temporal and spiritual things.

CHAPTER 5. SECOND PRINCIPAL PART OF THIS TREATISE NAMED DISPOSITION (ARRANGEMENT)—WHAT IS UNDERSTOOD BY IT— WHAT IT CONSISTS OF IN BUSINESS, AND THE THREE PRINCIPAL BOOKS OF THE MERCHANT.

Comes now the second principal part of this treatise, which is called disposition, and of this I have to talk more at length than of the first part, in order to make it very clear. I will divide it in two parts. We shall call the one, Corpo overo monte de sutto el trafico; the other, Corpor overo monte de botega (Commerce in general, and Your store in particular) . First, we shall speak of commerce in general and its requirements. Immediately after the Inventory, you need three books to make the work proper and easy. One is called Memorandum (Memoriale) , the second Journal (Giornale) , and the third Ledger (Quaderno). Many, on account of their small business, use only the last two, that is, the journal and the ledger. We shall speak about the first — that is, of the memorandum book, and thereafter of the other two, about their makeup, and how they should be kept. First of all, we will give the definition of the memorandum book.

CHAPTER 6. OF THE FIRST BOOK, WHICH IS CALLED MEMORANDUM BOOK (MEMORIALE), OR SCRAP BOOK (SQUABTA LOOLIO), OR BLOTTER (VACHETTA). WHAT IS UNDERSTOOD BY IT AND HOW ENTRIES SHOULD BE MADE IN IT AND BY WHOM.

The memorandum book, or, according to others, scrap book or blotter, is a book in which the merchant shall put down all his transactions, small or big, as they take place, day by day, hour by hour. In this book he will put down in detail everything that he sells or buys, and every other transaction without leaving out a jot; who, what, when, where, mentioning everything to make it fully as clear as I have already said in talking about the Inventory, so that there is no necessity of saying it over again in detail. Many are accustomed to enter their inventory in this book, but it is not wise to let people see and know what you possess. It is not wise to enter all your personal property and real property in this book. This book is kept on account of volume of business, and in it entries should be made in the absence of the owner by his servants, or his women if there are any, for a big merchant never keeps his assistants idle ; they are now here, now there, and at times both he and they are out, some at the market place and some attending a fair, leaving perhaps at home only the servants or the women who, perhaps, can barely write. These latter, in order not to send customers away, must sell, collect or buy, according to the orders left by the boss or owner, and they, as well as they can, must enter every transaction in this memorandum book, naming simply the money and weights which they know ; they should note the various kinds of money that they may collect or take in or that they may give in exchange. As far as this book is concerned, it is not as important to transfer to standards the various kinds of coin handled as it is with the journal and ledger, as we will see hereafter. The bookkeeper will put everything in order before he transcribes a transaction in the journal. In this way, when the owner comes back he will see all the transactions, and he may put them in a better order if he thinks necessary. Therefore, this book is very necessary to those who have a big business. It would be too much trouble to put down in a beautiful and orderly way every transaction immediately after it take place, in books which are authentic and kept neat with care. You must make a mark on the cover of this book, as well as on all the others, so that you can distinguish them when, in the process of the business, the book is filled or has served for a certain period of time and you take another book. You must take another book when the first one has been used entirely, yet many are accustomed in different localities to balance annually these books although they are not full ; and they do likewise with the ether books not yet mentioned, as you will see hereafter. On the second book you should put another mark different from the first, so that at any time you can trace your transaction easily. For this purpose we use the date. Among true Christians there is the good custom to mark their first books with that glorious sign from which every enemy of the spiritual flees and before which all the infernal spirits justly tremble — that is, the holy cross, by which in our tender years we begin to learn to read. The books that follow, you may mark in alphabetical order, calling A the second, and B the third, etc. So that we call the first books with the Cross, or Memorandum with Cross, and the second Memorandum A. Journal A, Ledger A. The pages of each of these books ought to be marked for several reasons known to the merchant, although many say that this is not necessary for the Journal and Memorandum books. The transactions are entered day by day, one under the other, in such way that it may be easy to trace them. This would be all right if all the transactions of one day would not take more than one page ; but, as we have seen, for many of the bigger merchants, not one, but several pages have to be used in one day. If some one would wish to do something crooked, he could tear out one of the pages and this fraud could not be discovered, as far as the dates are concerned, for the days would follow properly one after the other, and yet the fraud may have been committed. Therefore, for this and other reasons, it is always good to number and mark each single page in all the books of the merchants ; the books kept in the house or kept in the store.

CHAPTER 7. OF THE MANNER IN WHICH IN MANY PLACES MERCANTILE BOOKS ARE AUTHENTICATED, WHY AND BY WHOM.

All these books, according to the good customs of several countries where I have been, should be taken and shown to a certain mercantile officer such as the Consuls in the City of Perosa employ, and to him you should state that those are the books in which you intend to write down, or somebody else write down for you, all your transactions in an orderly way; and also state in what kind of money the transactions therein should be entered — that is, whether in lire di Picioli, or in lire di Grossi, or in ducats and lire, etc., or in florins and denari, or in ounces, tari, grani, denari, etc. The good merchant should put down these things always on the first page of his book, and if afterwards the handwriting should be done by somebody else than the one stated at the beginning of the book, this should be recorded at the office of the said officer. The clerk should mention all this in the records of the said officer — that is, on such and such a day you presented such and such books, marked with such and such mark, which books are named, one so-and-so, the other so-and-so, etc.; of which books one has so many pages, another so many, etc., which books you said would be kept by you or by so-and-so ; but that it may be that in said Memorandum Book or Scrap Book or Blotter, some person of your family might enter said transaction, as explained before. In this case, the said clerk shall write down on the first page of your books, in his own handwriting, the name of the said officer, and will attest to the truth of everything and shall attach the seal of that office to make the books authentic for any case in court when they might be produced. This custom ought to be commended exceedingly ; also the places where the custom is followed. Many keep their books in duplicate. They show one to the buyer and one to the seller, and this is very bad, because in this way they commit perjury. By presenting books to the said officer, one cannot easily lie or defraud. These books, after they have been carefully marked and authenticated, shall be kept in the name of God in your own place, and you are then ready to start your business. But first you shall enter in an orderly way in your Journal all the different items of the Inventory in the way that I will tell you later. But first you must understand how entries should be made in this Memorandum Book.

CHAPTER 8. HOW ENTRIES SHOULD BE MADE IN THE SAID MEMORANDUM BOOK, AND EXAMPLES OF THE SAME.

We have said already, if you will remember, that any one in your family can make entries in the said Memorandum Book, or Scrap Book or Blotter. Therefore, it cannot be fully stated how the entries should be made, because some members of your family will understand and some will not. But the common custom is this: Let us say, for instance, that you bought several pieces of cloth — for instance, 20 white bresciani, at 12 ducats apiece. It will be enough simply to make the entry in this way: On this day we have or I have bought from Mr. Filippo d’Rufoni of Brescia, 20 pieces of white bresciani. These goods are at Mr. Stefano Tagliapietra’s place; one piece is so long, according to the agreement, and paid for at so many ducats, etc., marked with such and such number, etc. You mention whether the cloth is a trelici, or a la piana, wide or narrow, fine or medium, whether the Bergamo kind, or Vincenza, or Verona, or Padua, or Florence, or Mantua. Also you have to state here whether the transaction was made through a broker and whether it was made in cash entirely or part only in cash and part on time, stating the time, or whether it was part in cash and part in trade. In this case you must specify the things that were given in exchange, number, weight, measurement, and the price of the bushel or of the piece, or of the pound, etc., or whether the transaction was all by payment on time, stating the time when the payment should be made, whether on Oalia de Barutto, or on Oalia de Fiandra, or on the return day of a ship, or on the date of some fair, or other festivity, as for instance, on the next harvest day or on next Easter, or on next Christmas, or on Resurrection day or Carnival day, etc., according to what was understood in the transaction. Finally, I must say that in this memorandum book nothing should be omitted. If it were possible, it should be noted what many others had said during the transaction because, as we have said about the Inventory, the merchant never can be too plain.

CHAPTER 9. OF NINE WAYS IN WHICH THE MERCHANT USUALLY BUYS, AND THE GOODS WHICH IT IS MORE OR LESS NECESSARY TO BUY ON TIME.

Since we are talking about buying, you must know that usually you can make your purchase in nine ways — that is: either in cash or on time; or by exchanging something, which is usually called a trade; or partly in cash and partly on time ; or partly in cash and partly by trading and partly on time ; or by draft (assegnatione de ditto) ; or partly by draft and partly on time, or partly by draft and partly by trading. In these nine ways it is customary to make purchases. If you would make your purchases in some other way you must state in your memorandum book with precision the way that you have made the purchase, or have somebody else do it for you, and you will do well. You buy on time usually when you buy guati or oats, wines, salt, remnants from a butcher shop, and fats. In these cases, the seller promises to the buyer to give all the guati that he will have in that season. The butcher will sell you and promises to give you all the hearts, skins, fat, etc., that he will have during that year. This kind for so much a pound, that kind for so much a pound, etc., and similarly for the fat of beef, of mutton, etc. ; the black skins of mutton at so much apiece j and the white mutton skins, etc., and so with the oats, or guati; you must specify the price for each bushel or other measure and the kind of oats as is the custom at Chiusi de Perugia. In buying guati you must see whether they are of our city San Sepolcro, or Mercatello, or Sant’ Angelo, or Citta de Costello, or Porli, etc. In this memorandum book, whether kept by you or by others, you must mention every single point. You state the things in a simple way as they happened, and then the skillful bookkeeper, after four or five days, or eight days, may enter all these transactions from the said memorandum book into the Journal, day by day ; with this difference, though, that it is not necessary for him to put down in the Journal all the long lines of words that were used in the memorandum book, because it is sufficient to put them down in an abridged way, and besides, references should always be made from one book to the other. Those that are used to keeping these three books in the way we have said never must enter one thing in Journal if they have not first entered it in the memorandum book. This will be enough as to the arrangement of the said memorandum book, whether it is kept by you or others. Remember that there are as many ways to buy as to sell ; therefore, I need not explain the ways of selling, because you knowing of the ways of buying can understand the selling.

CHAPTER 10. THE SECOND IMPORTANT MERCANTILE BOOK WHICH IS CALLED JOURNAL; WHAT IT IS, AND HOW IT SHOULD BE KEPT IN AN ORDERLY WAY.

The second common mercantile book is called the Journal (Giornale) which, as we have said, must have the same mark that is on the memorandum book and the pages marked as we have said in talking of the memorandum book. Always at the beginning of each page you must put down the date, and then, one after another, enter all the different items of your inventory.

In this Journal, which is your private book, you may fully state all that you own in personal or real property, always making reference to the inventory papers which you or others may have written and which are kept in some box, or chest, or filza, or mazzo, or pouch, as is customary and as is usually done with letters and other instruments of writing.

The different items entered in the said Journal ought to be entered there in a neater and more systematic way, not too many or too few words, as I will show in the few following examples. But first of all you must know that there are two words or expressions {termini) necessary in the keeping of a Journal, used according to the custom of the great City of Venice, and of these I will now speak.

Chapter 11 THE TWO EXPRESSIONS USED IN THE JOURNAL, ESPECIALLY IN VENICE, THE ONE CALLED “PER,” AND THE OTHER “A,” AND WHAT IS UNDERSTOOD BY THEM.

As we have said, there are two expressions {termini) used in the said Journal; the one is called “per,” and the other is called “a,” each of which has a meaning of For if, in balancing your book, you find that cash is in the credit, it would denote a mistake in the book, as I will remind you hereafter at its proper place. Now this entry ought to be made in the Journal, and ought to be arranged in this way : 43 its own. “Per” indicates the debtor {debitore) one or more as the case may be, and “a,” creditor {creditore) , one or more as the case may be. Never is any item entered in the Journal which also is to be entered in the Ledger, without preceding it by one of the two expressions. At the beginning of each entry, we always provide “per,” because, first, the debtor must be given, and immediately after the creditor, the one separated from the other by two little slanting parallels {virgolette) , thus, //, as the example below will show.

Chapter 12 HOW THE ENTRY SHOULD BE MADE INTO THE JOURNAL BY MEANS OF THE DEBIT AND THE CREDIT, WITH MANY EXAMPLES. THE TWO OTHER EXPRESSIONS USED IN THE LEDGER, THE ONE CALLED “CASH,” AND THE OTHER “CAPITAL,” AND WHAT SHOULD BE UNDERSTOOD BY THEM.

With the name of God you shall begin to enter into your Journal the first item of your Inventory, that is, the quantity of cash that you possess, and in order to know how to enter this Inventory into the Ledger and Journal, you must make use of the two other expressions {termini) ; the one called “cash” {cassa) and the other “capital” {cavedale). By cash is understood your property or pocketbook {borscia: from bursa, or bag) ; by capital is understood the entire amount of what you now possess. This capital must always be placed as creditor {creditore) in all the principal mercantile Ledgers and Journals and the cash always debtor. Never at any time in the management of your business may cash be creditor, but only debtor unless it balances. For if, in balancing your book, you find that cash is in the credit, it would denote a mistake in the book, as I will remind you hereafter at its proper place. Now this entry ought to be made in the Journal, and ought to be arranged in this way :

EXAMPLE OF MAKING AN ENTRY IN THE JOURNAL. FIRST. November 8, MCCCCLXXXXIII in Venice. Debit 1. J Per cash // A — Capital of myself so and so, etc. In cash I have at present, in gold 1 and coin, silver and copper of different coinage as it appears in the first sheet of the InCredit 2. * ventory in cash, etc., in total so many gold ducats and so many silver ducats. All this is our Venetian money ; that is counting 24 grossi per ducat and 32 picioli per grosso in gold 3 is worth : L (Lire), S (Soldi), G (Grossi), P (Picioli). For the second item you shall say this way : SECOND. Per mounted and unmounted precious stones of several kinds //. A capital ditto for so many mounted belassi, etc., weighing, etc., and so many sapphires, etc., and rubies and diamonds, etc., as the said Inventory shows to which, according to current prices I give these values : Belassi worth, etc. ; and so you shall state a price for each kind in total that are worth so many ducats. Their value is L , S , G , P After you have once named the day, the debtor and the creditor, you may say for brevity — if you don ’t make any other entry in between : On the day ditto, per ditto, // a ditto. THIRD. Per silver //. A ditto — by which capital is understood — for several kinds of silver which at present I possess — that is, wash basins so many, so many coppers, so many cups, so many pironi, and so many cosilier, etc., weighing in total so much. Their value is : L , S , G , P You shall give all the details in entering these items for everything as you have them in the Inventory, giving to each thing a customary price. Make the prices rather higher than lower ; for instance, if it seems to you that they are worth 20, you put down 24, so that you can make a larger profit ; and so you will enter everything, putting down for each thing its weight, number, value, etc. FOURTH. Per woolen clothes //. A ditto, for so many clothes of such and such color, etc., of such and such style, etc., lined, etc., new or used, etc., for myself or for my wife or for my children, I give the total value, according to the current price, so many ducats. And for cloaks, so many of such and such color, etc., and so on, for all the other clothes : L , S , G , P FIFTH. Per linen //. A ditto, for so many bed sheets, etc., and put down their number and value as the Inventory shows : L , S , G , P SIXTH. Per feather beds //. A ditto, etc., for so many feathers — and here put down all that the Inventory shows, number and value : L , S , G , P SEVENTH. Per ginger //. A ditto, for so many packages, etc., giving all the details that are contained in the Inventory, number, value, according to common prices, etc., so many ducats : L , S , G , P In this way you can continue to enter all the other items, making a separate entry for each different lot, and as we have said before, giving the current prices, number, marks, weights, as the Inventory shows. Indicate only one kind of money, to which you reduce the estimated values. In the column for the amounts, only one kind of money should appear, as it would not be proper to have appear in this column different kinds of money. You shall close each entry in the Journal by drawing a line from the end of the last word of your descriptive narrative (explanation) up to the column of the figures. You shall do the same in the memorandum book, and as you transfer an entry into the Journal from the memorandum book, you shall draw a single diagonal line (una sola riga a traverso) through it in this way /; this will show that this item has been entered (posta) in the Journal. If you should not draw this line through the entry, you shall check off (lanciarai) the first letter of the beginning of the entry, or the last letter, as we have done at the beginning of this ; or otherwise you shall use some other sign by which you will understand that the said item has been transferred into the Journal. Although you may use many various and divers expressions or marks, nevertheless you must try to use the common ones which are used by the other merchants, so that it will not look as if you would deviate from the usual mercantile custom.